Tag Archives: Wil Wenzel

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The Barristers Board of Governors (BOG) consists of successful and kind-hearted Barristers whose noble objective is to espouse and implement the betterment of our legal community and the community at large. We meet every second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA). As a Barrister (i.e., younger attorney), you are welcome to attend the open part of the BOG meeting.

Invitation to BOG Meetings

We would love for you, as a diligent young lawyer, to intelligently appreciate what you are missing to further thrive personally and professionally. At the BOG meetings, we will embrace you as an honored guest and help you become acquainted with a few of our 20+ sections and committees which the Barristers run. Topics of discussion include:

Learning how to Manage a Potential Client while Helping the Community: Become involved in our Roxbury Park Legal Clinic. Barristers meet every first Saturday of the month from 10:00 a.m. – noon to provide free general legal services to the community at large. Thanks to our invaluable President-Elect Wil S. Wenzel, and amiable Danielle Grabois, the Roxbury Clinic served at least 16 people with several lawyer volunteers, during January of 2015.

Feeding the Homeless: Join our SaMoShel Committee. Our selfless Barristers, under tutelage of our own chef extraordinaire LeRoy Williams and selfless past president Jeanine Percival Wright, meet every second Saturday of the month at Santa Monica Shelter from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. to cook delicious food and feed at least 60 homeless people. This is a sampling of our January 2015 menu:

Attending “Power Lunch” Series: You should seriously consider these revived series in which Barristers get a chance for a candid discussion with a “Power” lawyer in an informal setting to receive honest and practical answers for further professional career advancement. These series are organized by our very own superb Co-Chairs, Brian Schaller and Yan Goldshteyn, our Treasurer.

Having Fun, Food and Wine with our Vintage Bouquet Committee: Contemplate becoming involved with our Vintage Bouquet, run by our own able and affable Co-Chairs, Danielle Grabois and Nadira Imam.

Being a Mentee of and a Mentor to a Younger Lawyer: You may apply online at http://www.bhba.org/mentorship. Special thanks to our formidable past President, Autumn Ronda and invaluable Zev Shechtman, as Co-Chairs of the Mentorship Committee.

This list is just a small fraction of what our dedicated Barristers accomplish. Indeed, for instance, under the praiseworthy chairmanship of Autumn Ronda and Rachel Balchum, we had a very successful Grant-a-Wish drive in which we collectively fulfilled holiday wishes of thirty-nine boys ages 11-18.

If you would like to be part of our fun, fulfilling and educational committees, you should step forward and become involved. Hope to see you soon.

Doron F. Eghbali is a Senior Partner at Law Advocate Group, LLP in Beverly Hills and practices Business, Real Estate and Entertainment law. Contact him at DoronEghbali@LawAdvocateGroup.com, or 310 651 3065.

My friends and colleagues often ask me how their involvement in the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Barristers could help them with their career. My response to them is often simple: become sincerely involved and you will appreciate the tangible and intangible benefits.

In fact, given more than 20 projects and programs that our Barristers’ section offers members and non-members alike, any serious and sincere Barrister would find a program to get involved with or even spearhead, of course with our help and support.

Such Barristers’ programs not only help the community, but also reward those dedicated Barristers who spend their weekends or evenings planning and executing such programs with credibility in the eyes of their employers and clients. This credibility often translates into new and lucrative attorney-client relationships.

Community

Indeed, impeccable reputation and integrity are sine qua non for a successful legal career. Community involvement on the level that Barristers have accomplished undoubtedly helps those volunteers with name recognition.

For instance, on October 25, 2014, Rachel Balchum and Elizabeth Peterson diligently and deftly planned and executed a legal clinic involving more than 30 volunteer Barristers serving more than 100 people as part of L.A. Law Library Pro Bono week.

Kudos to Rachel and Elizabeth who undertook this colossal endeavor under the able aegis of Barristers Immediate Past President Autumn Ronda. In addition, on November 8, 2014, Barristers presented “What Every Tenant Needs to Know,” a substantive two-hour free Landlord-Tenant seminar to the public, at Roxbury Park.

The other examples of Barristers’ constant involvement in the community would be our monthly Roxbury Park Free Legal Clinic and Samoshel. Every first Saturday of the month our volunteers, run by our able Barristers’ President-Elect William S. Wenzel, provide free legal advice to the public.

Every second Saturday of the month, at Santa Monica Shelter, our dedicated Barristers’ volunteers cook and feed around 60 homeless people under the tutelage of our own chef extraordinaire, LeRoy Williams. Another project involved a toy drive in December, before the New Year, to help the greater Los Angeles’ impoverished children.

Legal Community

In addition to community involvement, Barristers are also involved in the legal community by planning and executing a few substantive MCLEs a month, geared mostly toward the needs of the younger attorneys. Our revived “Lunch with…” Power Lunch Series, run by our own Brian Schaller and Yan Goldshteyn, brings together illustrious attorneys in different practice areas with a small group of younger attorneys for an informal and candid round table discussion.

Career Enhancement

Given more than 20 or so events and programs the Barristers spearhead, any member of this proud and humble community should feel rewarded. Hence, when Barristers state these accomplishments on their resumes, LinkedIn, Avvo, Twitter, or Facebook pages, clients and employers take notice.

Clients know that such dedicated lawyers will steadfastly champion their rights, while employers realize that such competent and accomplished lawyers are invaluable assets to their law firms.

Doron F. Eghbali is a Senior Partner at Law Advocate Group, LLP in Beverly Hills and practices Business, Real Estate and Entertainment law. Contact him at DoronEghbali@LawAdvocateGroup.com, or 310 651 3065.

This election season, the BHBA and the Barristers proudly join the National Association of Women Judges in supporting the Informed Voters Project . The IVP is a non-partisan civic education initiative that increases citizen awareness about the process of voting for judges in an election. The IVP does not endorse any particular candidate; the goal is to educate citizens about why they should care about an informed vote for any judge.

The problem: in the last election approximately 50% of Californians voted. Of that 50%, only about 12% voted for judges. That means not only that a small minority of people determine who sits or stays on the California bench, but also that special interests have a disproportionately strong voice in who wins a judicial election.

What you can do: As a member of BHBA, you have access to prepared presentation materials, op-eds and letters to the editor, and social media & blog posts with links to articles and videos. Here’s how you can get involved (from least to most intensive):

1.Incorporate IVP materials on your website/blog/linkedin/facebook/twitter: IVP has prepared a short video featuring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor discussing the importance of voting for judges. They also prepared materials ready to be posted immediately. Leverage your connections to immediately spark people’s interest.

2. Submit an Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor: IVP has templates for both; the templates are ready-to-use. This is a fantastic way to get the message out with your name attached as a concerned citizen.

3. Make community presentations: Attend a short, 45-minute webinar instruction session and take an IVP-prepared power point presentation out to wherever the community gathers. A few suggestions:

PTA Meetings;

Homeowners’ association meetings;

Rotary meetings;

Kiwanis meetings;

Provisors meetings;

Law firm meetings;

Chambers of commerce meetings;

Wherever groups of people meet!

Not only will you be doing a service to this state, but you will also be holding yourself out to your community as a person who is actively involved in addressing serious community issues. Rarely are we afforded such an opportunity to engage directly and leverage such support to get a message out!

If you are interested: Please contact Brian Smith bsmith493@sbcglobal.net with your level of interest, and we will respond with the appropriate instructions and materials. Once you have participated, please get back to us and let us know how it went so you may be credited with the work you’ve done.

Together, we can use this opportunity to make a real, lasting difference in our community.

Barristers from the Beverly Hills and Santa Monica Bar Associations went head to head last Saturday in Santa Monica to play an epic game of softball. Sadly, the home team won in the last inning, with a final score of 7-6, but the weather was great, the game was a blast, and both sides came together for a pizza party afterward. Thanks to Jonathan Dennis for organizing, and stay tuned for details about a rematch later this year!

The Barristers are hosting their Monthly Free Legal Clinic this Saturday, June 7th, 2014 at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills. This is a fun opportunity to serve the community and meet your BHBA colleagues!

Barrister Leroy Williams will be leading our clinic. Let's get a good number of volunteers there to help Leroy help our community!

As always, we operate as a question and answer clinic. People come with a variety of questions and our volunteer attorneys do their best to provide basic answers.

The clinic begins at 10 am and finishes at about 12 noon, depending on the number of people who attend. If you are a new volunteer, come and check us out! We don't require a commitment to attend any particular number of sessions and we will pair you with an experienced volunteer attorney who will show you the ropes.

Also, remember that next month on Saturday, July 12, the clinic will again return to Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills! We changed the date due to the 4th of July holiday but are moving back to our previous and now, newly remodeled location!

BHBA Barristers are hosting their Free Monthly Legal Clinic at La Cienega Park again this Saturday, May 3rd, at 10 am. This is always a good opportunity to serve the community and meet other members of the BHBA!

If you are a new volunteer, just show up a little early and stop by our welcome table! La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills (Olympic & La Cienega Blvds.) from 10 am – Noon! See you there!

The first Saturday of each month the Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers host their Monthly Free Legal Clinic at La Cienega Park from 10am-Noon. Our volunteer and visitor numbers continue to climb as news of our program continues to grow!

Join us this Saturday, April 5th, from 10am-Noon for another opportunity to help our community!

Join us this Saturday, March 1st, from 10 am to Noon for another fun and rewarding free Barristers Monthly Legal Aid Clinic at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills.If you are new to the clinic, we will happily pair you up with an experienced volunteer attorney to observe us in action. We meet in the community center next to the children's playground. Look for the signs! There is free parking in the city structure across the street under the tennis courts on the west side of La Cienega Blvd just below Gregory Way.

My co-chairs, Brian and Wil, are going to be leading our clinic this Saturday. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or Brian or Wil. Thanks!

Join us Saturday, 2/1, from 10 am to Noon for another exciting and helpful free Barristers Monthly Legal Aid Clinic at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills. This is great way to serve the community as well as meet and network with other attorneys!

Wil is going to be leading our clinic tomorrow morning. I hope that as many of you as possible will attend and support him! If you are new to the clinic, we will happily pair you up with an experienced volunteer attorney to learn the ropes. We meet in the community center next to the children's playground. There is free parking in the city structure across the street under the tennis courts.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or my co-Chairs, Brian and Wil. Thank you!

The word is spreading that the first Saturday of each month the Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers host their Monthly Free Legal Clinic at La Cienega Park. Volunteer and visitor numbers continue to climb as the Barristers spread holiday cheer this year to those in legal need!

Join us next month on Saturday, January 4th, from 10am-Noon for a New Year of helping our community!

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Upcoming Events

The first Saturday of each month, the Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers hosts its Monthly Free Legal Clinic at Roxbury Park from 10am-Noon. Join us this month for another opportunity to help our community and meet like-minded lawyers with a … Continue reading →

The Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers invite you to their monthly Board of Governors meeting. This is where Barristers* discuss pressing issues affecting young lawyers, discuss and plan upcoming mCLE events, and organize community outreach programs. Dinner is served and … Continue reading →

Help the BHBA Barristers prepare an early dinner for the 60 or so residents living at Santa Monica Homeless Shelter. These kind and appreciative souls have experienced difficulties that caused them to lose everything. The Santa Monica Shelter provides food, a … Continue reading →